Or “weighing in on the Kony 2012 campaign…” Here is the video: When I first watched it, having seen it posted on facebook by a do-gooder Canadian friend and a very-smart-cookie friend from Africa, I was inspired. To get me to watch anything not related to my studies these days is quite a task, and this video managed to get, and hold, my attention for 30 (precious) minutes. I reposted it. A couple more of my friends reposted it as... Read more
I think I’m nearing the final stretch of an incredibly busy month or so, at last. I have submitted a chapter of my thesis (on Kant), which has been weighing on me for several months; I gave a talk in Oxford last Monday (great thanks again to Richard Gombrich and the OCBS, audio and some text to be posted when available); I had a wisdom tooth removed last Wednesday (great thanks to socialized medicine); and now I only have a... Read more
Along with all of this Buddhism and philosophy, I also have an enormous love of photography, nature, and running. I have a very busy couple of weeks ahead, so I am not sure if I will have time to write much in the Buddhism/philosophy categories too soon. However, I did stumble across Gregory Crewdson’s work today and felt it very much worth sharing. His photos, for me, approach perfection. They are more than beautiful, more than scenic or technically masterful.... Read more
The latest post over at Wild Fox Zen reminded me of a bit of my recent academic work: Kantian ethics. And before the collective moan resonates around the world, let me share a quote which will begin my chapter on the subject: Many accept my view that Kant is a more appealing moral philosopher on my reading than on the traditional one. They may even reluctantly admit that it is better supported by the texts than they thought it could... Read more
You could say that life here revolves around good sounds, coffee, and exploring the beautiful. That would be a bit simplistic and romantic, but what’s wrong with that? You could describe the headphones as a lifeline to sanity, as drunken Bristolian college students tramp and traipse by my window every night, going one way around 11pm, and trickling the other way between 1:30 and 3 am. And the coffee as that blessed elixir which brings life to the long dead... Read more
Slowly but surely, analytic philosophers are becoming interested in Buddhist thought. At the same time, Buddhist scholars are slowly but surely working their way into analytic philosophy. One of the most interesting junctures of intersection is the concept of free will (vs determinism or fatalism). ‘The wo/man on the street’ today believes in free will. She or he probably doesn’t have a robust theory of how free the will is, or what that will is. But certainly it is believed... Read more
If you have no idea what treble means, you’re probably an American (and you might be Canadian). If you’re thinking of music, you’re not completely off base, or off pitch as it were. Treble, which refers to a high-pitched voice or instrument, does so because it “was the highest part in a three-part contrapuntal composition.” If you don’t know what a contrapuntal composition is, well, I probably lost ya at treble. (It means triple) But don’t feel bad. Things like... Read more
California marks its second Fred Korematsu Day today, January 30, 2012. This Jan. 30, the Korematsu Institute, a nonprofit program co-founded by Korematsu’s daughter and the Asian Law Caucus, a San Francisco–based civil rights organization, is sponsoring the first Fred Korematsu Day celebration. The event, to be held at the University of California, Berkeley, will feature the Rev. Jesse Jackson and a video tribute from Representative Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota, the first Muslim elected to Congress. Earlier this... Read more
This video is almost a year old, but with Canadian Mental Health Day coming around again (Feb 9), I thought it would be well worth sharing again. And hey, they also have a Mental Health week in May, and there’s an international Mental Health day in October, so I guess this is worth sharing pretty much any time. Particularly interesting about the video was the use of chocolate in meditation. That’s brilliant. I still remember the ‘raisin’ meditation fellow students and... Read more
We have more and more ways to communicate, as Thoreau noted, but less and less to say. Partly because we’re so busy communicating. And — as he might also have said — we’re rushing to meet so many deadlines that we hardly register that what we need most are lifelines.. Pico Iyer – The Joy of Quiet. This is just one of the great things I’ve read over the last month that I felt merited sharing. And now I have.... Read more
American Buddhist Perspectives
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